Can You Drink Alcohol While Intermittent Fasting?
Need to Know:
You can consume alcohol during intermittent fast but only during the eating window, not during the fasting window.
Alcohol provides significantly more calories than protein or carbohydrates, so consuming alcohol while intermittent fasting can make weight loss harder.
Alcohol provides only empty calories, meaning that it provides no nutritional benefits and your body has no use for it.
While you can drink alcohol during intermittent fasting, there are several good reasons to limit or avoid drinking alcohol when you are on this eating plan. Alcohol is high in calories, and studies show we eat more junk food when we drink, so weight loss may be more difficult if you choose to consume alcohol.
Should You Drink While Intermittent Fasting?
There are upsides and downsides to consuming alcohol while also participating in intermittent fasting. But it is important to weigh the pros and cons to make a fully informed choice.
Pros
It feels less restrictive. One of the reasons that people choose intermittent fasting is that it does not require that you eliminate or avoid certain foods or food groups. You can eat whatever you want as long as you limit your food intake to certain prescribed eating windows. If you enjoy alcohol in moderation and feel “forced” to give it up while intermittent fasting, your program may start to feel restrictive, and your commitment to the program may suffer as a result.
May boost sustainability. In order for any diet to work, it must be sustainable.(4) When diets are too restrictive, they generally don’t work.(5) So, it’s important that you feel good while you are intermittent fasting. If a glass of wine with dinner helps you to enjoy your food and your meal experience, then your overall plan may benefit.
Moderate drinking may provide health benefits. There is some (controversial) evidence that moderate drinking provides health benefits. For example, there is evidence that moderate drinking may be good for your heart and circulatory system, and may even protect against type 2 diabetes and gallstones. But moderation is key. Moderate drinking is considered up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.(6)
Moderate drinking provides social benefits. There is no doubt that enjoying an alcoholic drink with friends is a popular way to relax and connect with others. Certainly, there are other ways to connect, but if going to happy hour with your besties makes you happy and you do so in moderation, there isn’t necessarily a good reason to give it up.
Cons
Alcohol will break your fast. Numerous health benefits are associated with intermittent fasting, including improved hormone levels, improved glucose and fat metabolism, and improved weight loss.(3) But these benefits are dependent on an effective fasting period. Since alcohol provides calories, if you drink during your fasting window, your body detects calories and your fast is broken. Your body won’t gain the benefits of fasting when the fast is broken.
Increases your overall calorie intake. Alcohol is high in calories. While carbs and protein each provide 4 calories per gram, alcohol provides 7 calories per gram. And if you choose a mixed drink, the beverage could total hundreds of calories due to the other ingredients in your glass, which are often high in sugar. Since intermittent fasting works because of overall calorie restriction, you may be sabotaging your success by adding these calories to your daily total.
Does not improve overall nutrition. Not only is alcohol high in calories, but the calories are “empty” calories. That means they provide no benefit to your body outside of energy (calories). Protein helps you build and maintain lean muscle tissue and helps your body repair cells. Carbohydrates are your body and brain’s preferred energy source. If you swap out nutritious macros like protein and carbs with alcohol (especially when done to maintain a calorie deficit), you shortchange yourself of the important nutrients it needs to function at its best.
May lead to poor food choices. Some studies have suggested that we tend to eat more junk food when we drink alcohol. The result is that our total calorie intake goes up, but total nutrition goes down.(7) If your goals are to burn fat and build muscle, you need to get adequate amounts of protein and carbohydrates along with healthy fats. Diving into the pretzel bowl at the local bar is not likely to help you reach your goal.
May lead to weight gain. Studies have suggested that low-risk and moderate drinking is not associated with obesity or weight gain. In fact, in some studies, light drinking was associated with less weight gain than non-drinking.(8) But heavy drinking and binge drinking are associated with a 41% higher risk of transitioning from normal weight to overweight and a 36% higher risk of transitioning from overweight to obese.(9)
May lead to negative health consequences. In addition to weight gain or obesity, heavy drinking is associated with other health problems such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, liver damage, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of certain cancers.(10)
May block fat burning. At least one study has suggested that drinking alcohol with your meal suppresses fat oxidation - the process your body uses to use stored fat. If the study findings are correct, then your body will be less efficient at burning fat when adding alcohol to your meal than it is when you don’t add alcohol to your meal. If weight loss is your goal, then you may want to rethink having wine with dinner.(2)
Alcohol may affect you more than expected. If you drink during fasting or directly after fasting, you may get more intoxicated as a result. Studies have shown that fasting decreases the effect of “first-pass metabolism,” leading to higher blood alcohol concentrations compared to consuming alcohol with food.(1) Getting tipsy can lead to a host of problems, including accidental trips or falls, or more serious consequences.
Best and Worst Alcohol While Intermittent Fasting
If you choose to consume alcohol during your eating window, your beverage choice may play a role in whether or not you meet your goals for the dietary plan. For instance, if your goal is weight loss, choosing lower-calorie alcoholic beverages will be smarter than choosing high-calorie drinks. So consider the calorie and macronutrient content of these beverages when making your choice. They are listed in order of lowest calories to highest calories:
Vodka & soda (with one shot vodka): 64 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein
Light beer (12 ounces): 100 calories, 0g fat, 5.8g carbs, 1g protein
White wine (5 ounces): 120 calories, 0g fat, 3.8g carbs, 0g protein
Champagne (5 ounces): 120 calories, 0g fat, 3.8g carbs, 0g protein
Red wine (5 ounces): 125 calories, 0g fat, 3.8g carbs, 0g protein
Rum & Coke (6 ounces): 179 calories, 0g fat, 13g carbs, 0g protein
Dark beer (12 ounces): 200 calories, 0g fat, 6.6g carbs, 1g protein
Moscow mule (8 ounces): 210 calories, 0.2g fat, 21g carbs, 0g protein
Gin & Tonic (8 ounces): 207 calories, 0g fat, 15g carbs, 0g protein
Margarita (8 ounces): 226 calories, 0g fat, 22g carbs, 0g protein
Espresso martini (4 ounces): 239 calories, 0.2g fat, 12g carbs, 0g protein
Tips for Drinking Alcohol While Intermittent Fasting
So what’s the bottom line? The answer will be different for everyone. Your reason for intermittent fasting will be a big part of the equation. If your goal is weight loss, consuming alcohol will make it harder for you to achieve your goal. But if you are a light drinker, the extra calories may be worth it if it benefits you in other ways.
If you do choose to drink during your IF program, keep these tips in mind:
Only drink alcohol during your eating window. Avoid drinking during or immediately after your fasting window. The consequences aren’t worth it.
Choose lower-calorie beverages. The list above will help you choose a drink that you enjoy but doesn’t derail your diet plan
Hydrate with water when drinking. Water will help you to feel full and also help to keep you hydrated to limit the potential after effects of alcohol (hangover).
Stay away from snack bowls. Avoid foods that you might mindlessly consume. Good nutrition is so important when your eating window is limited. Choose nutrient-rich foods instead.
Consider mocktails or alcohol-free options. Sobriety has become widely popular and with that trend has come a range of options in restaurants and in grocery stores. If you want to enjoy time with friends or an adult beverage with dinner, try some options without alcohol to see if you like them just as much.
Sources:
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Raben A, Agerholm-Larsen L, Flint A, Holst JJ, Astrup A. Meals with similar energy densities but rich in protein, fat, carbohydrate, or alcohol have different effects on energy expenditure and substrate metabolism but not on appetite and energy intake. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Jan;77(1):91-100. doi:10.1093/ajcn/77.1.91
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Wang L, Lee IM, Manson JE, Buring JE, Sesso HD. Alcohol consumption, weight gain, and risk of becoming overweight in middle-aged and older women. Arch Intern Med. 2010 Mar 8;170(5):453-61. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2009.527
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Mayo Clinic. Alcohol use: Weighing risks and benefits